Knitted fabric



June 18,1935' K. R. LIEBERKNECHT 2,005,093

Filed Nov. 29, 1952 Patented `lune 18, 1935 t UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KNITTED FABRIC Application November 29, 1932, Serial No. 644,784 In Germany October 3, 1932 4 claims. (ci. ca -iss) This invention relates to knitted fabrics in particular, full fashioned fabrics produced on fiat knitting machines having run resisting qualities and knit by a novel method to produce a novel 5 loop formationwhich also imparts a decorative effect to the fabric, particularly if different yarns, i. e. yarns of different colors, textures or materials are employed in the different courses.

Ordinary knitted fabric produced on full fashioned at knitting machines and, in particular, silk hosiery fabric, has the extremely undesirable characteristic that when a thread breaks the loops in that particular wale readily unlink themselves from each other, resulting in runs or ladders.

The primary object of this invention is the production of a knitted fabric in which this tendency to run is entirely overcome in the direction in which the fabric is knit and greatly minimized in the opposite direction.

A further advantage gained by the invention is that this characteristic is secured without impairing the desirable qualities of the fabric or complicating its manufacture to any appreciable extent. No alterations of the standard flat knitting machine are required, the variation in loop formation from the normal being accomplished by a simple attachment forming anauxiliary control of the pressing of the needles. The fabric may be narrowed in the usual manner and by the usual mechanism. In addition, if yarns of different colors or other characteristics are employed for the knitting of different courses highly attractive fancy stripes or designs are obtainable.

The fabric of this invention may be employed for the entire stocking, or limited to any part thereof desired. For example, it is particularly useful in the lower edge of the welt where a stripe of different color or texture may add greatly to the attractiveness of the stocking and, also, where the majority of runs begin.

The fabric of this invention and the method by which it is produced willbe clearly understood from the following specificationv and drawing, in which Figs. 1 to 6 are diagrammatic illustrations much enlarged, of the back of the fabric showing progressively the various courses, the normal shape of the loops being retained for the sake of ease of analysis;

Fig. 'I is a reproduction' of a much enlarged photographic view of a piece of the fabric showing the actual character and arrangement of the loops; and

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic fragmentary view of the face of the fabric illustrating the'character of the decorative effect obtainable by this loop formation, particularly if threads of different colors are employed in different courses. 5

This fabric is produced by laying,- sinkering and dividing a course of loops in the usual manner as illustrated by Fig. 1. The knitting of the rst y course having been completed so that the loops are hanging on the needle Shanks a second course is similarly started, but when the time for the pressing off of the loopsof the first course arrives only alternate loops are pressed off, the remaining loops being still retained upon the needles with the result that they will be elongated into the second course, the loops of the rst course on either side being correspondingly shortened. At the pressing of the second course the same procedure is followed, only alternate loops being pressed off, the remainder being retained upon the same needles which already carry the retained loops of the first course. Therefore, there are now two loops upon alternate needles as shown in Fig. 2, the remaining needles carrying only the single loops comprising the remainder of the second course, to which the corresponding loops of the ,first course are linked.

A third course is then knit, composed of a series of loops linked only to the alternate single loops of the second course, the loops of the first and second courses which have been retained on the needles being elongated into the third course.

This is accomplished by pressing the needles carrying the retained loops early enough so .that the beards are closed before the new loops can slip under them as the result of which the new loops are cast off and then permitting the beards to open and isolating these needles from the normal press so that the retained loops are not cast off. As shown in Fig. 3, this will resultl in a further elongation of the loops of the first course on needles 2 and 4 with a corresponding additional shortening of the adjacent loops of the rst course, and a lengthening of the equivalent loops of the second course an amount corresponding to the initial lengthening of the loops of the rst course and accompanied by a corresponding shortening of the adjacent loops of the second course.

The fabric resulting from these operations con sists of a' first course having very short loops separated by greatly elongated loops, a second course of very short loops linked to the short loops of the first course and separated by moderately elongated loops. and the third course' con- 55 third course are retained on the needles and the intervening elongated loops of the first and second courses which, as stated above, are still hanging on the needles are then cast off and linkedV to the loops of the fourth course. This is illustrated in Fig. 4 in which it will be seen that needles I and 3 carry the old loops of the third course and the corresponding new loops of `the fourth course, whereas needles 2 and 4 carry only new loops of the fourth course which` are linked to the elongated loops of the first and second cour in the same wale.

The knitting of the fifth courseis performed in a manner similar to that employed in knitting the third course. 'Ihat is to say, it is laid, sinkered and divided as usual, but at the press the beards of the needles which carry both the loops of the third and fourth courses are not permitted to close so that these loops are still retained on those needles. However, before the corresponding loops of the fifth` course pass under the beards of these needles the beards are closed so that the new loops are cast off without being linked to any loops, whereas the remaining loops of the fifth course which alternate with these are pulled through the corresponding loops of rthe fourth course in the usual way. Therefore, the fabric at this point', as will be seen from Fig. 5, has had added' to it since the completion of the third course a series of loops of exactly the same structure as those comppsing the first three courses but lying in the alternate wales so that each wale now contains two greatly shortened loops, a greatly elongated loop and a somewhat less elongated loop.

The knitting of succeeding wales is carried through in a similar manner, course six being initially formed as shown in Fig. 6, alternate wales being composed of double loops one of which is an elongated loop of course five and the other a new loop of the course six, as shown on needles 2 and 4.

In this manner a fabric highly resistant to runs is obtained as a result of the shortening of loops in each-course through the elongating of adjacent loops. The base of each elongated loop is tightly encompassed by the tops of two greatly shortened loops and it is almost a physical impossibility to unlink these loops in case a thread breaks without mistreating t@ fabric in a manner which would never occur in use.

If this fabric is knit of yarns of dierent colors, for example, white and blue in alternate courses, an operation which can be readily effected through the employment of two main thread carriers, instead of one and positioning them initially on opposite sides of the machine, decorative effects having the appearance diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 8 can be obtained. A modification of the method of knitting will be necessary in that before the knitting of the third course the friction box which operates the thread carriers and the slur cocks must be caused to traverse the machine in an idle course in order to pick up the thread carrier carrying the yarn of the color of the first course which was positioned on the opposite side of the machine from where the friction dropped the thread carrier for the second course.

The same variation will be essential before the knitting of the fifth course for the same reason.

'I'he fabric produced, however, will consist of exactly the same loops arranged in exactly the same art will readily vision the relative proportions of the loops as actually knit.

As will now be evident the peculiar loop formation of this fabric is obtainedprimarily through a special control of the pressing of the needles. Those needles upon which4 loops are to be retained being isolated from the` normal vpressing operation in such a way that the needle beards remain open, whereas the press during` courses `corresponding to courses three and six of 'thevdrawng is modified so that the loops which would normally be linked to the elongated loops are instead cast off through the closing of the beards of the needles before the loops can slip thereunder, with the result that these loops disappear and become floating threads across the elongated loops while the retained loops already on these needles arestill retained thereon. These modifications in the normal .pressing may be effected by any suitable arrangement or device such, for example, as an auxiliary press bar provided with press points which can be made to engage with alternate lneedles without interfering with the normal pressing of the other needles through the agency of the usuall press mechanism. Such an auxiliary press bar may be readily mounted upon the narrowing mechanism. Since the press points of the auxiliary press bar must be made to engage with one set of alternate needles at one timeand with the remaining set of alternate needles at another, provision will also be made for the lateral shifting of the auxiliary pressbar to effect this engagement at the proper time. 'I'his can be accomplished by mechanism well known to those skilled in the art and which, consequently, need not be described.

What I claim is:

1. 'I'he method of knitting run resistingv fabric which consists of forming a course of ordinary loops on all the needles, knitting a second course of loops linked to alternate loops of the first course, the intervening loops of the first course being tucked on intervening needles, knitting a third coursevlinked to alternate loops of the second course, the intervening loops of the third course being floated over the intervening loops of the first and second courses which are tucked on intervening needles, knitting the fourth course, the intervening loops being linked to loops of first and second courses while alternate loops of the third 'course are tucked on alternate needles, knitting a fth course, intervening loops thereof being linked to loops. of the fourth course while the alternate loops are floated across alternate stitches of courses three and four tucked on alternate needles of course flve, and then knitting a sixth course; linking alternate loops to alternate loops of courses three and four and tucking intervening loops of course five under interven- .intervening loops of the fourth course and tighting needles, to begin a new series of courses of the same character and arrangement.

2. A run resisting knitted fabric, consisting of a course in which alternate loops are very short and intervening loops are very elongated, a second course composed of short alternate -loops linked to short alternate loops of the rstcourse and tightly held thereby and of elongated intervening loops, a third course composed of very elongated alternate loops linked to the short a1- ternate loops of the second course and tightly held thereon, the intervening loops being oated between the elongated alternate loops, a fourth course composed of elongated alternate loops and short intervening loopsv linked to the elongated intervening loops of the ilrst and second courses, a fth course composed of very elongated intervening loops linked to the short 1y held thereon, the alternate loops being oated between the intervening elongated loops, a sixth course composed of short alternate loops linked to the elongated alternate loops ot the third and fourth courses and elongated intervening loops,

the short alternate loops being linked to very elongated alternate loops o! the seventh course to begin a new similar series of courses.

3. A run resisting knitted fabric according to claim 2 in which alternate courses are knit of.

yarn of dierent characteristics to produce a decorative design.

4. A run resisting knitted fabric according to 

